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Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. Learning to play guitar as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend who excited audience in the 1960s with his innovative electric guitar playing. Hendrix died in 1970 from drug-related complications, leaving his mark on the world of rock music and remaining popular to this day.
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Born Johnny Allen Hendrix (later changed to James Marshall) on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. Learning to play guitar as a teenager, Hendrix grew up to become a rock guitar legend. He had a difficult childhood, sometimes living in the care of relatives and even acquaintances at times.
His mother, Lucille, was only 17 years old when Hendrix was born. She had a stormy relationship with his father, Al, and eventually left the family after the couple had two more children together, sons Leon and Joseph. Hendrix would only see his mother sporadically before her death in 1958.
Jimmy Page was born January 9, 1944, in Heston, England. In 1965, he was asked to join the Yardbirds. In 1968 he formed a new band, renamed Led Zeppelin. The band toured the United States and released their first album, Led Zeppelin I, in 1969. Led Zeppelin soon developed a strong following. In addition to their recordings, Led Zeppelin was one of the most successful live acts of the 1970s.
Musician, songwriter, producer. Born James Patrick Page on January 9, 1944, in Heston, England. He was inspired by rock star Elvis Presley's "Baby Let's Play House" to take up the guitar at the age of 13. As a teenager, Page joined his first band, Neil Christian & the Crusaders. He toured with the group for a time, but he had to leave after suffering from a glandular fever.After a stint at art school, Page returned to music. He then became a session musician and a producer, working in England's thriving rock scene with such acts as the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Who. In 1965, Page was asked to join the Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock band, which had just scored a big hit with "For Your Love." The band wanted him to take over for Eric Clapton, who left the group for John Mayall's Bluebreakers. Page turned them down and recommended fellow session musician and legendary guitarist-in-the-making Jeff Beck. The Yardbirds sought out Page again the following year, and he finally agreed to become a band member. For a short period of time, the Yardbirds had two lead guitarists, Page and Beck. Beck left in late 1966 because ill health and a possible nervous breakdown. After Beck's departure, the Yardbirds released Little Games (1967), but they could not match their earlier success. The band fizzled out in 1968, and Page formed a new band to play some remaining Yardbirds concert dates. Initially calling themselves the New Yardbirds, the band consisted of John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards, John "Bonzo" Bonham on drums, andRobert Plant on lead vocals.Quickly renaming themselves Led Zeppelin, the band toured the United States as the opening act for the American rock group Vanilla Fudge. They released their first album, Led Zeppelin I in 1969, which earned mixed reviews. As John Mendelsohn wrote in Rolling Stone magazine, "Jimmy Page, around whom the Zeppelin revolves, is, admittedly, an extraordinarily proficient blues guitarist and explorer of his instrument's electronic capabilities. Unfortunately, he is also a very limited producer and a writer of weak, unimaginative songs, and the Zeppelin album suffers from his having both produced it and written most of it (alone or in combination with his accomplices in the group)." While critics may not have been thrilled by their work, music fans enjoyed such tracks as the now classic "Dazed and Confused." Their songs showcased Page's skills as a musician, often featuring his intense guitar riffs.Led Zeppelin soon developed a strong following. Music fans really enjoyed the band's hard rock and heavy metal sound. Their second album, the aptly titled Led Zeppelin II (1969), featured "Whole Lotta Love," "Ramble On," and "Heartbreaker." "Whole Lotta Love" reached the No.
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born 14 April 1945 in Weston-super-Mare, England) is an English guitarist, who was a founding member of hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. He left Deep Purple in 1993 due to a growing rift between Blackmore and other members in spite of renewed commercial success. His current band is the Renaissance influenced Blackmore's Night.Blackmore was ranked #55 in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Childhood and early life
Blackmore was born in Weston-super-Mare, England, but moved to Heston, Middlesex at the age of two. He was 11 when he got his first guitar. His father bought it for him on certain conditions: "He said if I was going to play this thing, he was either going to have someone teach it to me properly, or he was going to smash me across the head with it. So I actually took the lessons for a year ? classical lessons - and it got me on to the right footing, using all the fingers and the right strokes of the plectrum and the nonsense that goes with it." Whilst at school he did well at sports including the Javelin. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He was given guitar lessons by Big Jim Sullivan.
He was influenced in his youth by early rockers like Hank Marvin and Gene Vincent, and later, country pickers like Chet Atkins. His playing improved and in the early 1960s he started out as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions and performed in several bands. He was a member of the instrumental combo, The Outlaws, and backed Heinz (playing on his top ten hit "Just Like Eddie"), Screaming Lord Sutch, Glenda Collins and Boz among others. While working for Joe Meek, he got to know engineer Derek Lawrence, who would later produce Deep Purple's first three albums. With organist Jon Lord he co-founded hard rock group Deep Purple in 1968, and continued to be a member of Deep Purple from 1968-1975 and again from 1984-1993.
(1968-1975) The first Deep Purple years
Blackmore co-founded the hard rock group Roundabout with Wayne Blade in 1968 with Chris Curtis (vocals), Dave Curtis (bass), Jon Lord (keyboards), and Bobby Woodman aka Bobbie Clarke (drums). Later on the name was changed to Deep Purple and vocal, bass and drums were changed to Rod Evans (vocals), Nick Simper (bass) and Ian Paice (drums). It was Blackmore's idea to call the band Deep Purple, after his grandmother's favorite song. The band had a hit US single with its remake of the Joe South song "Hush". After three albums Evans and Simper were replaced by Ian Gillan (vocals) and Roger Glover (bass).
(1975-1984) The first Rainbow years
Blackmore, right, with Rainbow in 1977
After Deep Purple, Blackmore formed the hard rock band Rainbow. The name of the band Rainbow was inspired by a Hollywood bar and grill called the Rainbow that catered to rock stars, groupies and rock enthusiasts. It was here that Blackmore spent his off time from Deep Purple and met vocalist Ronnie James Dio, whose band Elf had toured regularly as an opening act for Deep Purple.The band's debut album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975. The band's musical style differed from Blackmore's previous band and much of Blackmore's inspiration came from his love of classical music which matched nicely with Dio's lyrics about medieval themes.Blackmore fired every original band member except Dio shortly after the first album was recorded, and recruited a new lineup to record the album Rainbow Rising.
(1984-1993) The second Deep Purple years
In April 1984, it was announced on BBC Radio's Friday Rock Show that the "Mark Two" line-up of Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, and Paice was reforming and recording new material. The band signed a deal with Polydor in Europe and Mercury in North America. The album Perfect Strangers was released in October 1984. A tour followed, starting in Perth, Australia and wound its way across the world and into Europe by the following summer. It was the highest-grossing group tour of the year. The UK homecoming proved mixed as they elected to play just one festival, 'The Return of the Knebworth Fayre', at Knebworth Park on 22 June, 1985. Despite poor weather conditions, an audience of 80,000 attended the show that also featured Scorpions, Mama's Boys and Meat Loaf amongst others. BBC Radio One broadcasted the set.
(1993-1997) The second Rainbow years
Ritchie Blackmore reformed Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple a second time in 1993. This Rainbow line up with singer Doogie White lasted until 1997 and produced the album Stranger in Us All. In the years Rainbow was together, Blackmore was the only consistent member. Stranger In Us All failed to measure up to the critical and commercial acclaim of previous releases, possibly due to the popularity of grunge rock at the time and the fact it was not particularly well publicised. In 1996, he appeared on the tribute album to Hank Marvin and The Shadows "Twang" on Sting's Pangea label with a rendition of Gerry Lordan's Apache.
(1997-present) The Blackmore's Night years
Ritchie performing with Candice Night
In 1997, Blackmore and his (now) wife Candice Night formed the Renaissance-inspired pop group Blackmore's Night. They have also performed the music for MagiQuest, a live simulation game located in Myrtle Beach, SC. Their debut album Shadow of the Moon (1997) went gold in Japan and enjoyed some success in Europe. In subsequent albums, particularly Fires at Midnight (2001), there was an increased incorporation of rock guitar into the music, whilst maintaining a folk rock direction.
Tony Iommi is synonymous with heavy rock, his innovative, de-tuned, dark riffs are considered to be the blueprint for hundreds of bands that followed.Born on February 19, 1948, in Birmingham, England, left-handed Tony picked up the guitar after being inspired by the likes of Hank Marvin & the Shadows as a teenager. By 1967, he had played with several blues-based rock bands, and formed a group (Earth) with three old acquaintances from his school days — bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne.Iommi's musical career was nearly derailed prematurely as he suffered a horrible accident at a sheet metal factory, when a machine sliced off the tips of the fingers on his right hand. Depressed and figuring that his guitar playing days were behind him, a friend turned him onto guitarist Django Reinhardt (who lost use of two fingers in a gypsy caravan campfire accident), inspiring Tony to give the six-string another go, with soft plastic tips attached to the ends of his fingers.Shortly thereafter, Iommi received a tempting offer to join Jethro Tull's band in 1968, which he reluctantly accepted. After only a single performance with Tull (playing the track "Song for Jeffrey" on the Rolling Stones' never-aired TV special "Rock & Roll Circus"), Iommi split from Tull to return back to his pals in Earth.With another band already playing around England by the name of Earth, Iommi & co. were forced to change their name, taking "Black Sabbath" from the American title of the classic Italian horror movie “I Tre Volti Della Paura”.
With the name switch came a change in musical direction — the band would explore dark lyrical subjects, while the music would be repetitive, plodding and heavy. In the process, Sabbath created the blueprint for heavy metal with such incredibly influential, all-time classic releases as their 1969 self-titled debut, 1971's Paranoid and Master of Reality, 1972's Vol. 4, and 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, becoming one of the world's top hard rock bands in the process. Iommi's guitar playing propelled such metal standards as "Black Sabbath," "N.I.B.," "Paranoid," "Iron Man," "War Pigs," "Into the Void," and "Children of the Grave," which boast some of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history.But by the mid- to late '70s, constant touring and drug abuse began to fracture the band, leading to Osbourne’s exit in 1979. After keeping the Sabbath name alive with several inspired non-Osbourne releases, including the Ronnie Dio albums - 1980's “Heaven & Hell” and 1981's “The Mob Rules” – which re-established the band’s commercial success, Iommi then shifted the band’s focus to Europe and recorded a number of albums with Tony Martin, including “Headless Cross”, and undertook ground-breaking tours to Russia and all parts East.In 1985 the original line-up returned together for a memorable appearance at Live Aid.
Eddie Van Halen (born January 26, 1955) formed the band Van Halen in 1974. His quick-fingered guitar riffs and singer David Lee Roth's onstage antics caught the eye of Kiss guitarist Gene Simmons in 1977. The band's sixth album, 1984, featured smas
Musician. Born Edward Van Halen on January 26, 1955 in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. While growing up in Pasadena, California, Eddie and his brother, Alex, took classical piano lessons. As teenagers, Eddie switched to guitar and Alex to drums, and they started a band called Mammoth. In 1974, they hooked up with vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony to form Van Halen. Within a few years, the band had become hugely popular in the Los Angeles rock scene.The band got a break in 1977 when Kiss bassist Gene Simmonsdiscovered them at a local club and financed their first recording session. Soon after, Van Halen signed with Warner Bros. In 1978, Van Halen put out its self-titled debut album, which featured the hit single "Runnin' With the Devil." The combination of Eddie Van Halen's electric guitar riffs and Roth's tongue-in-cheek antics launched the album to platinum status within six months of its release.During the next few years, Van Halen became one of the hardest working and most profitable bands in the recording industry, releasing a string of multi-platinum albums in quick succession; 1979's Van Halen II, 1980's Women and Children First, 1981's Fair Warning and 1982's Diver Down. But true superstar status did not come until the release of 1984, which showcased the now classic mega-hits "Jump," "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher."During this time, tension began to grow between Roth and the other band members. And in 1985, after recording his own successful solo album, Roth left the band to be replaced by former Montrose frontman Sammy Hagar. Showing a remarkable resiliency, Van Halen continued to put out several successful albums with Hagar as frontman, including 1986's 5150 and 1991's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. In 1993, the band released its first double-live album,Van Halen Live: Right Here, Right Now.By the mid-1990s, tension resurfaced, this time between the clean-and-sober Eddie and the unrepentant wild man Hagar. Hagar put out his last Van Halen record, Balance, in 1995. Shortly after Hagar's departure, Roth returned for a much-publicized Van Halen reunion. But after recording two songs for a greatest hits album and making an appearance with the band at the MTV Music Awards, Roth left again. This time, he was replaced by Gary Cherone, formerly of the heavy metal band Extreme. Cherone's debut with the band, Van Halen III, was released in 1998, but after slow sales he made his departure.Eddie Van Halen married actress Valerie Bertinelli in 1981, and their son, Wolfgang, was born in 1990. The couple announced their separation in July 2002. In 2009, Van Halen married girlfriend of three years, Janie Liszewski.
Trevor Rabin was born in South Africa in 1954. He first began playing guitar at the age of 12 after having had piano lessons since he was a toddler. He formed his first band in 1968, at only 14 years old. After being drafted, Rabin played both guitar and bass in the entertainment unit. He began doing session work after his discharge from the military in 1972. It was also that same year that he hooked up with a group of musicians who began recording as Rabbit. That group recorded a total of two albums over the next few years. By 1978, Rabin had left the group and began releasing solo albums. By 1981, he had released three solo albums and attracted the attention of Chris Squire. Squire, at that time, was fresh out of the recently broken-up Yes. Squire contacted Rabin about joining a new group he was assembling called, Cinema. At that point, Cinema was Squire and Yes drummer Alan White. During the work on their debut album (with original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye having been added to the lineup), Jon Anderson became involved in the project. After his vocals were added to the music, the group decided that this was really Yes and they made that name change. The resulting album, 90125, became the biggest hit the group has ever had, and the single "Owner of a Lonely Heart" catapulted them onto MTV. Rabin stayed with Yes until 1995, releasing four studio albums during that time (the aforementioned 90125, Big Generator, Union, and Talk). Rabin also found time to release another solo album, Can't Look Away, while still in the group. Since 1995, he has been using the majority of his musical talents on movie soundtracks. He has worked in various capacities on film soundtracks such as Glimmer Man, Enemy of the State, Armageddon, Con Air, and others. He also put in a guest appearance on Rick Wakeman's Return to the Centre of the Earth album.
Randy Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica California
and died on March 19, 1982. From his birth until his death his life had centered around music.
His impact on the guitar world may never be fully understood, but his influence can be seen
through the many guitarist in the world of rock and roll, as well as the world of the classical
guitar, that list a major impact in their musical lives.
His full name is Randall William Rhoads. His love and understanding for music can rightfully be
traced back to his mother, Delores Rhoads, and to his introduction to music at such a young
age. Mrs. Rhoads has owned and operated the Musonia School of music in Burbank, CA since
1949. After graduating from UCLA with a bachelors degree in music she taught in the Los
Angeles School system before leaving to play professionally and to start her Musonia. Randy's
father was a music teacher himself, but he left when Randy was 17 months old, leaving Mrs.
Rhoads to raise her three children, Randy, Kellie and Kathy, and to head the music programs
Musonia school of Music, Burbank, CA.
Adrian (Ad/Adje) van den Berg (born 31 January 1954, The Hague in the Netherlands) is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure as one of the guitarists in Whitesnakeduring their successful late 1980s period.Van den Berg was originally the lead guitarist for the Dutch band Teaser, a band that released a self-titled album in 1978. This band should not be confused with the American band Teaser, which featured American guitarist Jake E. Lee. He then started his own band, simply named Vandenberg, who released three albums in the 1980s, Vandenberg,Heading for a Storm and Alibi. They are arguably best known for the ballad "Burning Heart", a song that features complementing guitar layers and harmonies, and "Friday Night", from the Heading for a Storm album. They toured extensively, including a support slot to the Michael Schenker Group in the UK in late 1982. A "Best of" compilation has recently been released.
Van den Berg was originally approached to join Whitesnake in the early 1980s, having impressed David Coverdale with not only his guitar wizardry, but also with his songwriting talent and his ability as a band leader. He initially declined, due to the success of his own band Vandenberg and their Top 40 hit, Burning Heart. By 1986, however, with pressure from the record company to become more and more commercial and their success hitting a plateau, he relented and finally disbanded Vandenberg and agreed to join Coverdale inWhitesnake. Initially he was hired as a session musician, helping to complete their eponymous album Whitesnake (known as 1987 in Europe) after a mass-firing of the original band members by Coverdale. He contributed the solo to their #1 hit "Here I Go Again", but guitarist John Sykes played all of the other rhythm and lead guitar on the album.After an extremely successful world tour and extensive airplay for their 3 videos on MTV, van den Berg co-wrote all of the music to the follow-up album Slip of the Tongue. However, in preparing to enter the studio for the recording sessions, he injured his wrist performing isometric piano warm up exercises and was unfortunately unable to contribute lead guitar work to the album Slip of the Tongue. Steve Vai was imported by founder David Coverdale to record both lead and rhythm guitars on the album instead of van den Berg's. Van den Berg healed in time to stay with the band on tour supporting the album in a now-trademark dual guitarist role with Steve Vai. After Whitesnake was disbanded in 1991, he returned as part of other Whitesnake incarnations such as the 1994 Whitesnake's Greatest Hits reunion/tour. He once again co-wrote the songs for the 1997 album Restless Heart with Coverdale. This time, he played all of the guitars on this stripped-down, bluesy album, turning away from his well-known rock/metal neo-classical chops and towards his original main influence, Jimi Hendrix. He also collaborated with Coverdale on the Whitesnake unplugged acoustic album, Starkers in Tokyo.
Yngwie Malmsteen was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 30, 1963. The youngest child in a household that included his mother Rigmor, sister Ann Louise, and brother Bjorn, Yngwie originally had no interest in music. However, on September 18, 1970, Yngwie saw a TV special on the death of guitar iconoclast Jimi Hendrix. Seven-year-old Yngwie watched with awe as Hendrix blasted the audience with torrents of feedback and sacrificed his guitar in flames. The day Jimi Hendrix died, the guitar-playing Yngwie was born.
Applying his intense curiosity and tenacity to first an old Mosrite and then a cheap Stratocaster, Yngwie immersed himself in the music of such bands as Deep Purple and spent long hours practicing to learn their songs. His admiration for Ritchie Blackmore's classically influenced playing led him back to the source: Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Mozart. As Yngwie absorbed the classical structures of the masters, his prodigious style began to take shape. By age 10, he began to focus all his energies into music. His mother and sister, a talented flautist, recognized his unique musical gifts and gave him support and encouragement. His mastery of the instrument progressed rapidly. In his early teens, Yngwie saw a television performance of Russian violinist Gideon Kremer, who performed the highly difficult 24 Caprices of 19th century virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini. The effect was profound, and Yngwie understood at last how to combine his love of classical music with his burgeoning guitar skills and onstage charisma.
By age 15, Yngwie's trademark style had begun to emerge. He worked for a time as a luthier in a guitar repair shop, where he encountered a scalloped neck for the first time when a 17th century lute came into the shop. Intrigued, Yngwie scalloped the neck of an old guitar in similar fashion and was impressed enough with the results to try it on his better guitars. The scalloped fret board was somewhat more difficult to play than a normal neck, but his control over the strings was so improved that Yngwie immediately adopted it as a permanent alteration to his equipment.About this time, Yngwie began playing in a number of bands built around his explosive guitar style, with long instrumental explorations. Around age 18, Yngwie and several friends recorded a demo set of three songs for Swedish CBS, but the cuts were never released. Frustrated, Yngwie began sending demo tapes to record companies and music contacts abroad. One such tape found its way into the hands of Guitar Player contributor and Shrapnel Music. Yngwie was invited to record with a new band Steeler--and the rest, as they say, is history.From Steeler, Yngwie moved on to Alcatrazz, a Rainbow-style band, but it became clear that to fully develop his talents, Yngwie would have to go solo. Yngwie's first solo album, Rising Force (now considered the bible for neoclassical rock) made it to #60 on the Billboard charts, an impressive feat for a mostly instrumental guitar album with no commercial airplay. The album also gained Yngwie a Grammy nomination for best rock instrumental performance. He was voted Best New Talent in several readers’ polls, Best Rock Guitarist the year after, and Rising Force became Album of the Year. Rising Force blazed a trail on the concert circuit that established Yngwie as one of rock guitar's brightest new stars and added a new genre to the music lexicon: neoclassical rock.
Joe Satriani was born in Westbury, New York, and began playing guitar at age 14. By 1971, he was teaching guitar to others, one of his students being Steve Vai. In 1974, Joe studied with two modern jazz masters, guitarist Billy Bauer and pianist/composer Lennie Tristano; four years later, he moved to Berkeley, California, where he began a 10-year guitar teaching career with students including David Bryson (Counting Crows), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), and Charlie Hunter, among others. In 1984, Joe released a self-titled five-song EP on his own Rubina label, and the following year completed his first full-length album Not Of This Earth, which was financed on a credit card and released in 1986 on Relativity Records.
In October 1987, Relativity released Satriani's second album Surfing With The Alien. The record became a global phenomenon, going platinum with sales of over a million copies in the U.S. alone and landing Satriani's face on the covers of such magazines as Guitar Player, Musician, Guitar World, and dozens of other international publications. Surfing With The Alien was a landmark release which showcased the guitarist's stunning array of composing, playing , and producing talents. Consequently and deservedly, it became the most successful instrumental rock record since Jeff Beck's Wired.
Each subsequent Satriani release - including Flying In A Blue Dream, The Extremist, Time Machine and the recent Joe Satriani, which was produced by the legendary Glyn Johns - has drawn great commercial and critical attention. The same seems certain to be the case with Crystal Planet, and it's not just Joe's fans who have been moved by his unique tone and feel: Players from all walks of musical life have been attracted to Satriani's work.After sitting in with Joe's band at New York's Bottom Line, Mick Jagger recruited Joe in 1988 as lead guitarist for the singer's very first tour apart from the Rolling Stones. Deep Purple tapped into Satriani's mastery when he assumed lead guitar position in the band for its 1994 tours of Europe and Japan. In 1996, the G3 Tour - featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson - played 24 dates to some 90,000 fans across North America, a tour documented on the G3 Live In Concert album and home video (both Epic). In 1997, Joe united with jazz guitar great Pat Martino to record two tracks, "Ellipsis" and "Never and After," for Martino's acclaimed all-star collection All Sides Now (Blue Note); and enlisted in a second G3 summer tour, this one co-starring Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Robert Fripp.
Born: June 6, 1960
Six-string wizard Steve Vai, along with his one-time teacher Joe Satriani, set the standard for rock guitar virtuosity in the '80s. Born on June 6, 1960, and raised in Carle Place, New York, Vai became interested in the guitar via such legendary artists as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Alice Cooper as a teenager and, upon starting high school, took lessons with an older player from the school, Joe Satriani. Playing in several local bands, Vai quickly picked up on the instrument, and by the age of 18 was attending the renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston. As a student there, Vai transcribed several of Frank Zappa's most technically demanding compositions for guitar, and even sent a copy of one such transcription, "Black Page," to Zappa himself. Zappa was so impressed with the young guitarist that upon meeting him, he invited Vai to join his band.
Subsequently, Vai toured the world with Zappa (giving Vai the nicknames "Stunt Guitarist" and "Little Italian Virtuoso") and played on such albums as 1981's Tinsel Town Rebellion and You Are What You Is, 1982's Ship Arriving Too Late, 1983's Man from Utopia, plus 1984's Them or Us and Thing-Fish, before leaving to set out on his own. First off was a pair of self-financed, recorded, and released solo albums in 1984, Flex-Able and Flex-Able Leftovers, both of which showcased Vai's guitar playing and songwriting talents, yet were still heavily influenced by Zappa. With Van Halen all the rage by the mid-'80s due to their massive hard rock/pop crossover success, Vai replaced Yngwie Malmsteen in a similarly styled outfit called Alcatrazz (which featured former Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnett), playing on their overlooked 1985 release Disturbing the Peace. The same year, Vai made a cameo appearance in the movieCrossroads (playing the Devil's guitarist and shredding away in a guitar duel with Ralph Macchio) and got an invitation from his friend/bass master Billy Sheehan to try out for the guitar spot in singer David Lee Roth's solo band (Roth had just split from Van Halen), and eventually landed the gig. The debut release from Roth and his stellar solo band, Eat 'Em and Smile, arrived in 1986 and went on to become one of the year's top hard rock releases. Both Vai and Sheehan were catapulted to superstardom due to their instrumental talents, as they took top honors in numerous guitar magazines for years afterward.
At the age of thirteen me and my buddy Anders Hedlund was playing squash towards a garage door on a parking lot in the small town of Umeå in the north of Sweden when one of us came up with the brilliant idea of turning the racket around, playing it as if it was aguitar. At the time I had no idea what an impact this would have on my future! We were heavily into Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, and we decided to form a band then and there. Unfortunately we didn’t have a dime to our names, neither any musical instruments, so the dream was seemingly impossible to catch. After weeks - months of relentless persuasion of my parents into buying me an electric guitar, my prayers (read brainwash) seemed to have panned out. On Christmas eve 1973 I opened the case and laid eyes on my very first guitar – a second hand Hagstroem Impala. It was love at first sight. Six years of practising and playing in bands later I’d discovered that I was outgrowing Umeå. I packed my guitar and bags and took off for the bright lights – big city: Stockholm. I got a job in a hospital emptying trash with hepatitis infected syringes and tran-sporting dead people to the morgue. It wasn’t a great job, but it had an obvious upside … if I did my ”stiff runs” fast enough I would get lots of time over to go down to the dressing room where I kept a guitar in my locker. Thanks to those corpses I got lots of invaluable practising done every day during fully paid working hours. Thank you dead guys. Or as Alice Cooper would have put it; I love the dead.
When I joined the glam/punk act Noice in 1982 I got my first taste of the rock’n’roll life style. The platinum selling band was creating hysteria, pulling major crowds wherever we played. The tour I did with them has gone down in history as ”the tour of scandals”. We ended up in the tabloids more often than not, and we had to get police escort back and forth from almost every gig. During this tour I learned how to play a guitar solo while running and ducking for eggs, tomatoes and even rocks, because not all the guys in the audience appreciated the effect we had on the women in the crowd. I got along especially well with the bass player, Peo Thyrén, and it wasn’t long before we started scheeming on ideas for forming a new band, since we felt that Noice was doomed to fall apart anytime. A lot of this had to do with the keyboard player Freddie Hansson and his self destructive way of life. Between gigs me and Peo started to hang out in London, picking up the club vibe and listening to bands like The Southern Death Cult (later just ”The Cult”), Killing Joke and The Specimen.Back in Stockholm we hooked up with vocalist Zinny Zan, former drummer of The Nymphomaniacs (whom later became Hanoi Rocks), Freddie Von Gerber, former drummer of Intermezzo and Noice and Danny Wilde (later to form Road Rats with Conny Blom from the Electric Boys). This five piece band felt ultimate and we were psyched, completely ready to take on the world.
Born: July 28, 1954
Steve Morse has enjoyed a healthy following particularly among guitar players, he has scored highly in readers' polls held annually by musicians' magazines. Although initially inspired by the Beatles as a teen, Morse began to expand his listening to include the Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. Although he played a little piano and some clarinet, he became fascinated with guitar after seeing a concert by classical guitarist Juan Mercadal, who later gave the teenaged Morse some lessons. Deeply influenced by a campus performance by John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra while he was attending the University of Miami, Morse decided to focus on instrumental rock music; in 1974 he put together his first band, the Dixie Dregs (later simply the Dregs), which would go on to become one of the defining groups in the fusion genre. After Morse had fronted the Dregs on some 14 albums, the Steve Morse Band began their recording career in 1984. Soon after, Elektra Records snatched Morse up and he cut two albums for the label, The Introduction in 1984 and Stand Up in 1985, before joining Kansas and appearing on two of the arena prog band's albums for the MCA label, Power (1986) and In the Spirit of Things (1988).
Morse then signed to MCA as a solo artist, and in the late '80s and early '90s his albums for the label included High Tension Wires (1989), Southern Steel (1991), and Coast to Coast (1992). After leaving MCA in 1992, Morse recorded two excellent albums for Windham Hill/BMG Records, Structural Damage (1995) and StressFest (1996), and in 1994 he joined Deep Purple as a replacement for Ritchie Blackmore, appearing on a number of the hard-rocking metallers' live albums as well as four studio-recorded long-players over the course of nearly a decade: Purpendicular (1996), Abandon (1998), Bananas (2003), and Rapture of the Deep (2005). Meanwhile, in 2003 Morse joined the supergroup Living Loud, also featuring vocalist Jimmy Barnes (INXS, Cold Chisel) and Ozzy Osbourne bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake; the band released its eponymous debut full-length in 2003 and, following the addition of Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey to the lineup, the CD Live in Sydney 2004 (2005) and companion DVD Debut Live Concert: Sydney Fox Studios, 2004 (2006). The Steve Morse Band's Out Standing in Their Field arrived in 2009, and the following year saw the release of Angelfire, a collaboration between Morse and singer/songwriter Sarah Spencer. Richard Skelly, Rovi
Ronni Le Tekrø (born Rolf Ågrim Tekrø on 5 October 1963 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian guitaristbest known for playing with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT and as a solo guitarist cooperating with guitarists Terje Rypdal and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Tekrø moved to Raufoss at a young age, and he has lived there all his life except between 1982 and 1985 when he lived in Trondheim
Le Tekrø plays with more emphasis on volume and hard attack on the strings than distortion. He often usesarpeggios, like in the solo in "Intuition".He covered Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare" in his solo album Extra Strong String. Le Tekrø has collaborated with the Norwegian guitarist and composer Terje Rypdal and has released three albums featuring the fruits of that collaboration. Le Tekrø's vocals tend to be deep, with emphasis on vibrato andfalsetto. His inspirations as a guitarist include Steve Hillage, Brian May, Jimmy Page, Brian Robertson, Jimi Hendrix, and Ted Nugent.[]. He also claims to have invented the "Machine Gun Style." *George Lynch of Dokken states Le Tekrø's solo for "Caught between the Tigers" is "a real face-melter. It's spine-tingling."
Akira Takasaki - Loudness guitarist and a legend of japanese metal - was born on the 22nd February 1961 in Osaka, Japan. He started his adventure with guitar (in a most serious way) as a 16 year old (of course he started to play earlier), surely no one was expecting that in the future he will become on of the best guitar virtuoso's in the world.... Akira's first serious group was Lazy - he started the band with Munataka Higuchi in 1976. His band nickname was ''Suzy'' (sic!). Lazy's debut album - ''This is the Lazy'' was released 2 years later (exactly on 05.03.1978). The bands music is - in early years - pop-rock (!), a the end of theirs activity, in 80's, group unexpectedly turned into hard rock machine. Higuchi and Takasaki were playing in Lazy until 1981 (Lazy returned to live two times, in 1997 and 2002) when they got interested in hard rock and heavy metal and they decided to start a new band - that is how Loudnes. Group was established in may 81' (some sources say that it was february 81' though).
From all the group members Akira has got the biggest ammount of solo projects and other releases. In 1983, along with Munetaka Higuchi's ''Destruction'', ''Tusk of Jaguar'' (ToJ) - Akira's first solo album was released. The whole record could be treated as a next Loudness album because... Akira was supported by all the Loudness musicians but ToJ's musical style differs from the Loudness works. During years 1994-2004 Akira records next 4 solo LP's. He often recorded all the intrumental parts and vocals on his own! Of course he is sometimes supported by other musicians. Except for Loudness members, Paul Gilbert (Mr.Big & Racer X - guitar) or Pat Torpey (drums) can be mentioned. As his side project Ji-Zo he recorded 2 albums. A soundtrack to an anime titled ''GeneShaft'' is also on of his works. He is also involved in a project called Jasmine Sky with a japanese singer Hisae. In this project Akira recorded 2 minialbums and one longplay where he recorded everything except the lead vocals. Akira plays drums during gigs though. He made guest appearences on several other albums.
Akira Takasaki is the only musician from the bands original lineup who took part in the recording of every of Loudness 20 albums. His person is always connected with the band, it is him who is considered the leader of the group. ''Heavy Metal Hippies'' (1994) is the first Loudness album where Akira isn't accompanied by any of the original members. In this highly ''un-classic'' lineup the band recorded 4 studio albums. In 2001 Loudness records ''Spiritual Canoe'' (''SC'')... Higuchi, Niihara and Yamashita are gathered by Takasaki after many years of separation. That's how the reunion album ''SC'' is born... since that time the band recorded 5 longplays. The newest one from 2004 is called ''Racing''.Because of his love to the instrument Akira established ''Killer Guitars'' company and he started the production of electric guitars and basses. Akira speak out about his need to improve his style, it's evolution and change. When recording new albums the musician wants to somehow connect to his older style and try changing it a bit, play heavier, ''The playing on Spiritual Canoe is a new style for me with some of the old stuff mixed in...'' - said Akira during the premiere of ''SC'' - ''...It's so crazy, so heavy''. People who had contact with the musician talk about his taciturnity and bad english - it doesn't concern us, Akira speaks out with his music.
Born: January 10, 1955 in Germany
Years Active: 70 's, 80 's, 90 's
Genre: ROCK
Along with Gary Moore, Michael Schenker never quite reached the same level of acclaim stateside as he did in Europe (and other parts of the world), despite possessing exceptional, and quite influential, six-string skills. Born on January 10, 1955, in Savstedt, Germany, it was Schenker's older brother, Rudolf, who sparked the youngster's interest in guitar at an early age. Entirely self-taught, Michael picked up a thing or two from such hard-rocking acts as Wishbone Ash and Mountain, as well as his older brother, who would offer the youngster money if he would transcribe certain songs for him while he was at work. As a result of constant playing, it wasn't long before Schenker showed immense talent with the instrument, and by the early '70s, joined Rudolf's group, the Scorpions. Michael appeared on the group's 1972 full-length debut, Lonesome Crow, and toured with the outfit (all at the age of 17). But it was during the album's supporting tour that another up-and-coming outfit, UFO, took a keen interest in the young Schenker and managed to pry the guitarist away from the Scorpions.
Although a language barrier existed between Schenker and his new bandmates (he barely knew any English at the time), the guitarist let his playing do the talking, especially on his first recording with the group, 1974's Phenomenon, which spawned such metal classics/Schenker showcases as "Doctor Doctor" and "Rock Bottom" (also of note was the instrumental "Lipstick Traces," a tune which Schenker played entirely with his feet!). It was also around this time that Schenker began playing an instrument that he would become synonymous with for the rest of his career, a Gibson Flying V (which would eventually be decorated with a half-white/half-black paint job). Heavy-duty touring and a pair of further releases, 1975's Force It and 1976's No Heavy Petting, set the stage perfectly for what UFO hoped would be a global commercial breakthrough. The late '70s saw UFO issue a trio of classic hard rock albums -- 1977's Lights Out, 1978's Obsession, and especially 1979's outstanding live set, Strangers in the Night -- all of which made strong showings on the U.S. charts. But UFO's time in the limelight would be fleeting, as alcohol/substance overindulgence and erratic behavior drew a wedge between Schenker and the rest of UFO (the guitarist also became famous for disappearing from the group without any notice, leaving them high and dry mid-tour). 1979 saw Schenker's exit from UFO (who were never the same after his exit) and re-entry into the Scorpions. But, as with his first go around with the group, Schenker's tenure was a fleeting one, only lasting a single album, 1979's Lovedrive, before exiting once more.
Marty Friedman began his career as a Shrapnel solo recording artist and later joined forces with Jason Becker to form the unrivaled dual guitar unit, “Cacophony”, who have a strong influence on today’s top guitarists. Amassing worldwide acclaim as a guitar superstar, he came to the attention of Megadeth. Racking up sales of over 10 million records with Megadeth, Friedman continued to record solo records, often embarking on adventurous musical forays far removed from his work with Megadeth, including an album with Golden Globe winner Kitaro.
In a bold move, he left the legendary Megadeth to pursue new musical goals and has succeeded tremendously. Friedman’s many accomplishments make him currently the only musician to be a fixture in the top class of the Japanese domestic as well as international music scene.His music performance (songs from “LOUDSPEAKER”) on national TV with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and charting high with his own music and with Japan’s top artists, has spurred Friedman into new celebrity territory.Now residing in Tokyo, Friedman has become a television celebrity appearing as a regular on 5 major networks, he can be seen on mainstream hit TV programs almost every day in Japan.His latest offering, “LOUDSPEAKER” is exactly the kind of record that Friedman fans have been waiting for. While aggressively breaking through cutting edge uncharted musical territory still in spots it is reminiscent in style of his first solo record “Dragon's Kiss.”
Before joining Megadeth in Feb.1990, Marty was in a band called Cacophony, which released 2 albums (among their indie label's highest selling) and toured the U.S. and Japan. This band highlighted the potent guitar playing of Marty and fellow guitarist Jason Becker (who was to join David Lee Roth's band and record an album with him in 1990). Marty has received extremely high acclaim and many awards around the world for his unmistakably `Marty-esque` way of playing the guitar. Marty is from Washington D.C. originally but has lived in many places including Hawaii, Germany and California, giving him an odd and interesting approach to making his music. He currently resides in Tokyo
“A life lived unexplored is a life not worth living," says Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist and songwriter of rock band Metallica. Hammett describes himself as being obsessive, curious, smelly, ugly, happy, and progressive. It seems to be the combination of his curiosity and progressive traits that has advanced him down the road of super stardom to the success he has enjoyed in his music career. Learning everything he can about the guitar and forever educating himself on new styles is Hammett's answer to the issue of burnout that so many musicians face. Even after successful tours, albums and Grammy awards that he won playing with Metallica, he was humble enough to study guitar at City College of San Francisco. Hammett's humility and dedication to ever improving his skills earned him a slot as number 11 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He approaches other aspects of his life with the same curiosity and slightly subdued enthusiasm.Kirk Hammett was born in San Francisco, California in 1962. His father was a merchant seaman and his mother was Filipino, which accounts for Hammett's the long, flowing black locks. Hammett spent his childhood in El Sobrante and first became interested in music by listening to his brother Rick's record collection. His first concert ever was Day on the Green, which featured the Eagles, Steve Miller, Heart and Foreigner. When he was 15, Hammett began his guitar endeavors modestly with his first guitar from a Montgomery Ward catalog. For an amp, he used a shoebox with a four-inch speaker. His early musical influences included Jimi Hendrix, UFO, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Joe Satriani, Warren Haynes,Adrian Belew, Freddy King and Buddy Guy.
It wasn't long before Hammett felt the need to upgrade in order to keep improving. His next guitar was a Fender Stratocaster. Ever curious, Hammett was always searching for his own unique sound and developed the “Frankenstein” technique using different pick up and amp combinations. Finally, Hammett discovered his guitar soul mate when he started playing a 1974 Gibson flying V. This guitar is still a part of his collection and has been featured on numerous Metallica albums. In order to make enough money to buy his musical toys, Hammett worked at Burger King and as a dishwasher while he developed his guitar skills.In 1980 Hammett co-founded his first band, Exodus with vocalist Paul Baloff. Exodus was known as a thrash-metal band and toured all around the Bay area. The rest of the band's lineup included Gary Holt on guitar, Geoff Andrews on bass and Tom Hunting playing the drums. Exodus opened for two Metallica shows before Hammett ever considered joining up with the group. However, just after the second time that Exodus opened the show for Metallica, the band decided to fire their guitarist, Dave Mustaine. Hammett had to scrape together the money to fly to New York from his native California to join up with the band. Metallica never officially asked Kirk if he wanted to be a permanent member of the band. They just kept playing together for more and more engagements. Finally, when they were through recording the Kill 'Em All album, Kirk felt sure that he must be an official member. Even though he was now a part of a legitimate hard rock band, Hammett was still working to improve his guitar skills. He followed in the footsteps of many other guitar greats and took lessons from Joe Satriani. From Satriani he learned about techniques and the intricacies of jazz, blues, and classical styles.
For almost 30 years Christian rock pioneer Michael Sweet has broken down walls and seen unprecedented success bringing his music to the masses. Best known as the singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Stryper, his role in that groundbreaking band only scratches the surface of this multi-talented artist.
Michael Sweet, in addition to his very visible role in Stryper, is also a Nashville songwriter, producer, acclaimed solo artist, and in 2008 was even a member of the legendary band BOSTON. Stryper, under the leadership of Michael Sweet, has sold over 8 million records worldwide, received a Grammy nomination, charted countless times on the Billboard charts, and won a Dove Award. He continues to break new ground in all aspects of his diverse career.
In 2012 and 2013 Michael Sweet is bringing his unique solo acoustic show to churches nationwide. The shows are heartfelt story-teller performances where he plays Stryper classics, solo material, and even some notable praise and worship songs.
The future remains bright for a man who has endured heartbreaking tribulations throughout his life and career, including the 2009 passing of his wife of more than 22 years.
In 2010, Sweet remarried to Lisa Champagne-Sweet, a woman he describes as "a complete Godsend and one who fits perfectly within my life." Lisa has spent her entire career working within the field of human services and has over the last few years been able to devote more of her time alongside Michael assisting the Stryper management team.Sweet continues to record and tour with Stryper, as well as touring and recording as a solo artist, all the while making frequent trips to Nashville where he is writing with some of the biggest country music writers in the business."After more than 25 years in this business, I feel honored and blessed to be able to continue doing what it is I love, making music. I'm extremely thankful to have some of the greatest fans in the world. The Lord has blessed me with this talent and I plan to continue on this path as long as God wants me to." says Sweet.Looking back over the last 25 years, Stryper is considered a groundbreaking act by all accounts, being one of the first Christian rock bands to enjoy decided success in the mainstream market. Their 1986 album To Hell With The Devil is listed among CCM's "100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music" and the band's popular power ballad "Honestly" became a Billboard Top 40 hit.
Philip Kenneth Collen was a late starter by all standards, especially when you consider his current iconic rock star status as lead guitarist for a world famous multi-platinum selling rock-n-roll band. Born in Hackney, East London, England on December 8th, 1957, Phil was influenced by everything from the Rolling Stones to the Motown sound to glam rock, hard rock, punk, or anything with a flair. He got his first guitar at the age of 16 after pestering his parents for two years. Ken, a cross country truck driver and Connie, a devoted housewife were persuaded that it was the right thing to do. This came about after Collen was taken to his first rock concert to see Deep Purple at age 14 by his cousin. “The experience changed my life,” said Phil.
Collen left school at sixteen to work in a factory and as a dispatch rider. Influenced by guitar players such as Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Ronson, he soon developed a flashy, aggressive style of playing rock guitar. Phil quit his day job he went on tour as a guitarist with the London-based post-punk glam rock band ‘Girl’. Collen joined Def Leppard in 1982 during the Pyromania album recording sessions, playing guitar solos on the hits ‘Photograph’, ‘Foolin’’, and ‘Rock Of Ages’ among others. Pyromania was Def Leppard’s breakthrough album and turned Def Leppard into rock super-stars almost over night. They spent the summer of 1983 at number 2 on the Billboard charts, behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time. Pyromania sold in excess of 10 times platinum and received a Diamond award in the US and Canada.
After the Pyromania tour ended, tragedy struck the band. During the recording of the Hysteria album drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a car accident on New Year’s Eve 1984. The band chose not to replace Rick. He re-learned how to play the drums using his left foot to replicate left arm percussion. His dedication to the band paid off and upon the release of Hysteria Def Leppard had their best selling album to date, releasing seven singles from the album including the smash hits ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ and ‘Love Bites’. The band received their second diamond album, selling over twelve million copies in the U.S alone, putting them in an exclusive group of only six bands ever to achieve two diamond albums in America. Def Leppard was now among rock-n-roll’s elite which included The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, and Van Halen.Fortune and fame, however, often have a price to be paid, and tragedy was to strike the band again. While creating songs for the Adrenalize album Steve Clark was found dead in his London home due to a mixture of painkillers and alcohol. Clark had been Phil’s best friend and guitar partner in the band. The pair had been dubbed ‘The Terror Twins’ due to their “on tour shinnanigans”. Soon the name became synonymous with more than pranks and their classic harmonious guitar playing became known as the ‘Def Leppard sound’. Adrenalize was released with Phil Collen recording the guitar parts for both players and was the number one album in the U.S during the 1992 L.A. riots.The nineties also saw the release of the Slang album and the ever popular Vault, Def Leppard’s greatest hits album which has achieved quadruple platinum status in the U.S.A.Expanding their reach Def Leppard collaborated with two country superstars. Tim McGraw was featured on their Sparkle Lounge single ‘Nine Lives’ while Taylor Swift teamed up with the band swapping hits on CMT’s Crossroads which also has been released as a DVD and garnered the band two CMT nominations.Phil and his bandmates from Manraze are currently creating music for a second album. As lead vocalist and lead guitarist he performs a modern day mix of punk, rock, and reggae with bassist Simon Laffy formerly of Girl and legendary Sex Pistols’ drummer Paul Cook. The band’s debut album Surreal has been released in the US and the UK to rave critical reviews comparing the band to the Police, the Foo Fighters, and the Clash. Phil Collen was the only artist to play twice at 2009’s Download Festival with both bands, Manraze and Def Leppard.These days there is intense interest in Phil Collen’s health regimen and diet as there is in his music and artistic expression. Phil trains as a practicing Muay Thai kickboxer and utilizes weight work-outs culminating in three workouts a day, seven days a week under the watchful eye of his trainer Muay Thai kickboxing champion Jean Carrillo to get to and maintain his current fitness level.Phil Collen has been a vegetarian for 27 years and alcohol-free for 22 years, busting the myth of the classic ‘rockstar’ stereotype wide open.
Paul became interested in music under the influence of his parents at the age of five.
On his 5th birthday, his parents gave the toy guitar and toy amp to him.
He started to play the guitar in 1971.At the age of 9, he became listening to music; hard rock/heavy metal like LED ZEPPELIN,KISS, AEROSMITH and HEART.When he was 11, Eddie Van Halen guitar play gave him a great shock.And he started to play with band.At the age of 15, he sent Mike Varney (a president of the record company, "Shrapnel")his demo tape.
And Mike liked his demo tape. So Mike talked to him, "How about recording?".But it wasn't realized.He graduated high school and moved to Los Angeles to entered G.I.T in 1984.
In September, 1985, he became a teacher of G.I.T.
At the same time, he formed his band called ELECTRIC FENCE.
The members of his band were Paul (guitar/bass), Jeff Martin (drums)
and Russ Parrish (guitar/bass).
They were jamming cover songs.
In 1986, he started the new band called RACER X. But he quit RACER X in 1988.
In 1989, he joined MR.BIG. They released first album,"MR.BIG" in the same year.
In 1996, they made an announcement about their permanent off.Paul released his first solo album,"KING OF CLUBS" in 1997.And he went to road as his first solo tour in 1998.
In the same year, he released his 2nd solo album,"FLYING DOG".And he came back to Japan to play live in 1999.He made an announcement about leaving MR.BIG at the same time.
In 1999, October, RACER X is back !! They makes their reunion album.
Now, Paul Gilbert enjoys making and playing his favorite music.
Touted as one of the best guitar players in the world, Richie Kotzen also possesses a voice on par with some of the greatest rock/soul singers and is highly regarded as a gifted songwriter. Richie has had an incredible journey into the world of music.With guitar styles ranging from rock, blues, jazz and fusion to pop and soul, Kotzen has built a remarkably diverse 20 year career as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. During that span, he has not only built an incredibly successful solo career, but has also found himself writing, recording and playing live with a variety of different artists, ranging from Pop/Rock bands like Poison and Mr. Big to Jazz/Fusion groups like Vertu featuring Kotzen and Jazz legends Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Working with these artists has provided Richie with a great deal of in-studio experience, as well as the opportunity to tour the world, introducing him to an international audience. In fact, his immense popularity overseas led Kotzen to one of his greatest honors - touring as the opening act on the Japanese leg of the Rolling Stones’ 2006 “A Bigger Bang Tour”.A prolific songwriter, Richie has written several songs that have gone on to become hit singles around the world. His song “Stand.” written while a member of Poison, reached the top 20 on the Billboard charts. As the lead single off of their album NATIVE TONGUE, “Stand” was the catalyst for the album reaching platinum status. While with Mr. Big, Richie also enjoyed another milestone, having his song “Shine” reach #1 in both Europe and Japan.
Richie has just released his 20th solo album, entitled PEACE SIGN. He continues to make amazing records and to tour around the world, playing stadiums, festivals, and clubs. His current tours have spanned several continents, including North America, Europe, South America and Asia. He has played with many other well known musicians, has performed on television programs such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and “Live with Regis and Kelly,” and continues to appear in countless books, magazines and websites, being acknowledged as one of the top guitarists in the world!Kotzen is one of the few artists to be honored by Fender Guitar with not one, but two signature model guitars. The Kotzen Telecaster guitar has repeatedly been the #1 selling signature model guitar for Fender Japan. Cornford Amplification also honored Kotzen with his own signature series guitar amp (the RK 100) which in 2005 was voted Amp of the Year in the UK. In 2009, Zoom released the Richie Kotzen Signature Edition effects pedal (the G2R), providing a diverse range of tonal solutions programmed by Kotzen himself.Kotzen has amassed a catalogue of more than 25 albums and has no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.“Touring and making music is my life. It is all I have ever done. I am very grateful to all the people around the world who have made that possible,” Richie humbly states.
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